Loading device

ABSTRACT

A loading head for a mining machine having an inclined apron slidable along the ground and crowded into loose material on the mine floor. A pair of counterrotating gathering discs, mounted on the apron, move loose material on the discs to a carry-away conveyor. A pair of adjustable wing extensions, with sidewalls thereon, are mounted at each side of the apron to vary the width of the apron&#39;&#39;s loading surface and to retain loose material on the loading surface. A gathering sweep, associated with each wing extension, moves loose material from areas on the loading head beyond the reach of the gathering discs, onto the discs for loading onto the carry-away conveyor.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Joseph Gonski Chicago, Ill. [21] App1.No. 6,823 [22] Filed Jan. 29, 1970 [45] Patented Nov. 16, 1971 [73] Assignee Westinghouse Air Brake Company Pittsburgh, Pa.

[54] LOADING DEVICE 5 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 198/8, 198/9 [51] Int. Cl B653 65/06 [50] Field of Search 198/7, 8,9

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,489,600 4/1924 .loy 198/8 X 1,752,714 4/1930 Wilcox 198/9 2,768,728 10/1956 Bowman 198/8 FOREIGN PATENTS 144,274 11/1948 Australia 198/9 Primary Examiner- Evon C. Blunk Assistant Examiner-Hadd S. Lane Attorney-John E. McRae ABSTRACT: A loading head for a mining machine having an inclined apron slidable along the ground and crowded into loose material on the mine floor. A pair of counterrotating gathering discs, mounted on the apron, move loose material on the discs to a carry-away conveyor. A pair of adjustable wing extensions, with sidewalls thereon, are mounted at each side of the apron to vary the width of the aprons loading surface and to retain loose material on the loading surface. A gathering sweep, associated with each wing extension, moves loose material from areas on the loading head beyond the reach of the gathering discs, onto the discs for loading onto the carry-away conveyor,

PAIENTEUuuv 16 I9" SHEET 2 BF 2 INVENTOR.

Joseph Gonski LOADING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A mining machine of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,417,851 provides an adjustable width loading head having a particularly wide and efficient cleanup capability. Counterrotating gathering discs are used to provide a smooth continuous flow of loose mined material onto the machines carryaway conveyor. Adjustable wings or wing extensions, when fully extended, provide a load-receiving surface of maximum width; and when fully retracted provide a minimum width loading head for tramming and maneuvering the mining machine in restricted places. Besides these two extreme positions, other in-between operating positions may be located corresponding to desired mining widths.

These wings are located outwardly and behind the gathering discs and present a problem in that loose material resting thereon cannot be retrieved by the gathering discs. A considerable surface area of the loading head therefor collects and retains masses of loose material with no way of moving this material onto the carry-away conveyor. Thus, spillage and poor cleanup will result if material is permitted to build up on these surfaces.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention is generally directed to a loading head particularly adapted for continuous mining machines of the ripper type for which a wide loading head is required beneath the ripper cutter drums. The head is wide enough to contain all of the material dislodged from the mine face and provides an improved gathering and cleanup means therefor.

The loading head comprises an inclined apron having a plowlike leading edge which is crowded under the loose material at the mine floor. A pair of counterrotating, generally flat gathering discs are mounted in side-by-side relationship on the apron and form a load-receiving surface along with the apron. Loose material progressing along the apron and onto the rotating discs is discharged onto the machines carry-away conveyor.

Wings extend along each side of the apron and are pivotally mounted on the apron for extensive and retractive movements in order to provide an adjustable width load receiving surface, consistent with mining widths. Each wing has a gathering sweep means associated therewith, for moving loose material from the wings and from other remote areas on the apron, onto the rotating discs. Thus, good cleanup is insured by preventing spillage caused by a buildup of loose material on the loading head in areas beyond the reach of the gathering discs.

Accordingly, a principal object of this invention is to provide a wide loading head which is particularly adapted for ripper types of mining machines having gathering sweep means to clear loose material from remote areas on the head in order to provide positive loading of these areas and eliminate spillage.

Another object of this invention is to provide a variable width loading head for a mining machine wherein extensive wings are swept of loose material by gathering sweep means, whereby the loose material is moved onto a pair of counterrotating gathering discs and discharged therefrom onto a carry-away conveyor.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an adjustable width loading head having a sweep means arranged to effectively sweep loose material from remote areas of the loading head, comprising an endless chain with sweep arms thereon guided for orbital movement about a chain guide means, whereby the chain guide means is arranged to provide suitable driving tension for the endless chain, in any adjusted operating width ofthe loading head.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent in the following specification and with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation of a continuous mining machine's loading head constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the loading head shown in FIG. I with the wing extensions adjusted to load a maximum width;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view to a larger scale with the wing extension adjusted to load a narrower width than shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially along line 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially along line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, I have shown in FIG. 1 a continuous mining machine of the ripper type having a main frame 10 supported on laterally spaced continuous tractor treads 11, which serve to advance the machine along a mine floor. A boom 12 is pivotally mounted on the main frame 10 for vertically adjusting the height of a mining head 13 carried at the forward end of the boom 12. The mining head 13 is arranged to cut at a predetermined width, consistent with the particular mining operation, and is moved vertically along a mine face whereby cutter bits 14 dislodge material from the mine face at a desired cross-sectional area.

A gathering or loading head 16 is mounted at the front of the main frame 10 for pivotable movement about pivot pins 15. The gathering head comprises an inclined apron 18 with a loading surface 17 and a pair of closely spaced counterrotating gathering discs 19,19 recessed in the apron 18 and a pair of adjustable wing extensions 21,21 extending along opposite sides of the apron 18. The counterrotating discs are driven by suitable power means (not shown) through gearing 20 which may be of the form shown in the aforesaid U.S. Pat. Nov 3,417,851. The apron 18 has a plowlike leading edge 22 slidable along the ground and crowded into loose material by the continuous tractor treads 1 1.

The adjustable wings 21 are pivotally mounted on each outer rear comer of the apron 18. As shown in FIG. 2, each wing 21 includes a flat bottom plate 23 having a leading plowlike edge 24 and having an outer upright sidewall 26 extending from a pivot block portion 27 forward along the bottom plate 23 to a point just short of the plowlike edge 24. The pivot block portion 27 serves to pivotally mount the wing 21 on the apron 18 for adjustable movement about a pivot pin 28 over the apron surface 17 to vary the effective width of the loading head 16. v

A lever arm 29 extends rearwardly from the block portion 27 and has a piston rod 31 pivotally connected thereto by means ofa pin 32. The piston 31 extends from a cylinder 33, pivotally connected to a mounting bracket 34, extending rearwardly of the apron 18 on a pivot pin 35.

The piston rod 31, extensible from cylinder 33, may adjust the wings 21 to an outermost position as shown in FIG. 2 and may move the wings 21 inward along the top surface 17 of the apron 18 for more restricted pickup or loading conditions as may be required by the cutting width of the mining head 13. The wings 21 may be adjusted to numerous intermediate operating positions, as for example the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 3, between the extreme positions shown in dotted lines. The mounting brackets 34 are shown in FIG. 2 as being bifurcated, to receive the connecting end portion of a piston rod 36, between the furcations thereof. A separate pivot pin 37 pivotally connects each piston rod 36 to an associated mounting bracket 34. Each piston rod 36 is extensible from a cylinder 38 pivoted at its head end to the main frame 10. The cylinder 38 serves as the means for elevating the loading head 16 above the ground about the axis of the pivot pin 15, when the machine is trammed to and from a working place. In normal loading operation the plowlike leading edge 22 of the apron 18 is in floating engagement with the ground.

Each wing extension 21 has a sweep means 39 associated therewith comprising an endless gathering chain 41 having a plurality of sweep arms 42 thereon and guided for orbital movement about chain guide means 43. The chain guide means 43 includes a chain guide 44, fixed to and movable with the adjustable wings 21 and a chain guide 45 pivotably mounted on a drive hub 46 projecting from the gathering disc 19. Chain guides 44 and 45 have contacting inner camming faces 47 and 48 respectively with outer irregular chain guiding faces 49 and 50 for the endless gathering chain 41. The chain 41 is supported for movement above the surface of the gathering discs 19 on support plates 52 and 53 formed integral with chain guides 44 and 45 respectively.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention a sprocket 54, mounted on the drive hub 46, drives the endless gathering chain 41 in an orbital path along irregularly shaped guiding faces 49 and 50 of the chain guides 44 and 45. Other suitable arrangements may also be used to drive the chain 41, without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. The guiding faces 49 and 50 move relative to one another by interaction of the camming faces 47 and 48 to maintain a generally uniform peripheral dimension about the chain guides 44,45.

Direction changing guide rollers 55,56 are provided at points along the guiding face 49 of the chain guide 44 to reduce frictional drag where the chain is required to make abrupt changes in direction.

The chain guide 44, attached to the wing 21 and positioned therewith in various operating positions, causes the chain guide 45 to assume a related position, by means of the interaction of the camming faces 47,48, whereby the gathering chain 41 will be suitably tensioned for all operating positions of the wing 21. Camming face 47 moving against camming face 48 causes chain guide 45 to pivot about the axis of drive hub 46, thereby altering the shape of the guided path taken by the endless chain 41. As the camming face 47 of the chain guide 44 moves in an outward direction the endless gathering chain 41 holds the camming faces 47,48 together to provide the necessary chain tension.

Even in the extreme innermost retracted position the chain will remain engaged with the drive sprocket 54. The gathering chains sweep arms 42 are arranged to move along the wings bottom plate 23 in close proximity to the upstanding sidewall 26 to clear this area of the material deposited thereon by normal mining action. This loose material is moved by the sweep arms 42 onto the counterrotating gathering discs 19 which are generally moving at a faster lineal rate of speed than the endless chain 41 to move the material away from the chain and onto a carry away conveyor 57. A stripper bracket 58 extends from the center of each gathering disc 19 to the sidewalls of the conveyor 57 to strip material from the top surface of the discs 19 toward the conveyor 57 and attain a uniform flow of material onto the conveyor.

In the loading operation, the loading head 16 is disposed beneath the mining head 13 of a continuous mining machine and the wing extensions 21 adjusted to conform to the desired mining width of the head. The material dislodged by the mining head 13 drops directly onto and in front of the inclined apron 18, throughout the width thereof including the wings. As the mining operation progresses, the loose material on the wings 21 and remote areas of the apron 18 is swept onto the counter rotating gathering discs 19. The continuous tractor treads ll crowd the loading head 16 into the dislodged material on the mine floor in front of the apron l8, scooping up the material by the plowlike leading edge 22 onto the apron 18 and the counterrotating gathering discs 19. Here, too, the sweeps assist in transferring the material onto the discs. The counterrotating discs 19 in turn effect the flow of material directly onto the receiving end of the carry-away conveyor 57.

Thus, good cleanup is ensured with the present invention by preventing a buildup of loose material on the loading head in areas beyond the reach of the gathering discs.

While I have shown and described one form in which my invention may be embodied, it may readily be understood that various modifications in the invention may be attained without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts thereof.

1 claim as my invention:

l. A loading device for loose material comprising an apron movable along the ground in a material-receiving position,

a hopperlike wing extension movably carried at each side of the apron and adjustable between a retracted position and a position outboard of the apron, each extension having a plow area for capturing and retaining loose material from the space laterally outboard of the apron,

a central carry-away conveyor extending rearwardly from the apron,

counterrotating discs and cooperating strippers arranged to transfer loose material from the apron to the conveyor, and

orbital gathering chain sweeps arranged over said extension to gather and move loose material from the wing extension plow areas onto the discs.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said chain sweep means comprises an endless gathering chain having sweep members extending therefrom for movement over the plow area from the outer extremities of the wing extensions inwardly and rearwardly across the disc surfaces.

3. The structure of claim 2 wherein the drive sprocket for each chain is mounted on a drive hub extending from and driven by the associated disc; the improvement further comprising chain guide means which includes first and second chain guides, said first chain guide being pivotably mounted on said drive hub and said second chain guide being mounted on a wing extension;

said first and second chain guides each having a camming face wherein the camming face of the second chain guide bears against the camming face of the first chain guide,

urging it into a chain tensioning position. 4. The structure of claim 3 wherein power means is provided to adjust the wing extensions, with movement thereof and movement of the attached second chain guide forcing the camming face of the second chain guide against the camming face of the first chain guide whereby the second chain guide is pivotally moved about the drive hub producing a change in the orbital path of the endless chain to provide a generally uniform driving tension on the said chain in all positions of the adjustable wings.

5. An adjustable width loading device for a mining machine comprising:

an inclined apron supported on the mining machine and extending forwardly across the front thereof with the loading edge slidable along the ground in a load-receiving posture,

a pair of 'hopperlike wings adjustably mounted at opposite sides of the apron to provide along with the apron a variable width loading surface,

a conveyor extending rearwardly from said apron,

a pair of counterrotating gathering discs mounted on said apron and arranged to move loose material onto said conveyor;

a gathering sweep for each disc including an endless chain guided for orbital movement about a pair of movable chain guides,

a plurality of sweeps extending from said chain,

a sprocket arranged to drive said endless chain. being drivably mounted on a hub extending from and driven by the gathering disc,

a first of said pair of chain guides pivotably mounted on said hub,

a second of said pair of chain guides mounted on and movable with the wing,

each of said pair of chain guides having a camming face.

fonning a part thereof,

said camming faces coacting with one another whereby movement of the second chain guide causes an appropriate movement of the first chain guide whereby adjustment of the wings will automatically provide a suitable adjustment of the chain guides to provide a generally uniform operating tension for the endless chains in all adjustable positions of the wings. 

1. A loading device for loose material comprising an apron movable along the ground in a material-receiving position, a hopperlike wing extension movably carried at each side of the apron and adjustable between a retracted position and a position outboard of the apron, each extension having a plow area for capturing and retaining loose material from the space laterally outboard of the apron, a central carry-away conveyor extending rearwardly from the apron, counterrotating discs and cooperating strippers arranged to transfer loose material from the apron to the conveyor, and orbital gathering chain sweeps arranged over said extension to gather and move loose material from the wing extension plow areas onto the discs.
 2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said chain sweep means comprises an endless gathering chain having sweep members extending therefrom for movement over the plow area from the outer extremities of the wing extensions inwardly and rearwardly across the disc surfaces.
 3. The structure of claim 2 wherein the drive sprocket for each chain is mounted on a drive hub extending from and driven by the associated disc; the improvement further comprising chain guide means which includes first and second chain guides, said first chain guide being pivotably mounted on said drive hub and said second chain guide being mounted on a wing extension; said first and second chain guides each having a camming face wherein the camming face of the second chain guide bears against the camming face of the first chain guide, urging it into a chain tensioning position.
 4. The structure of claim 3 wherein power means is provided to adjust the wing extensions, with movement thereof and movement of the attached second chain guide forcing the camming face of the second chain guide against the camming face of the first chain guide whereby the second chain guide is pivotally moved about the drive hub producing a change in the orbital path of the endless chain to provide a generally uniform driving tension on the said chain in all positions of the adjustable wings.
 5. An adjustable width loading device for a mining machine comprising: an inclined apron supported on the mining machine and extending forwardly across the front thereof with the loading edge slidable along the ground in a load-receiving posture, a pair of hopperlike wings adjustably mounted at opposite sides of the apron to provide along with the apron a variable width loading surface, a conveyor extending rearwardly from said apron, a pair of counterrotating gathering discs mounted on said apron and arranged to move loose material onto said conveyor; a gathering sweep for each disc including an endless chain guided for orbital movement about a pair of movable chain guides, a plurality of sweeps extending from said chain, a sprocket arranged to drive said endless chain, being drivably mounted on a hub extending from and driven by the gathering disc, a first of said pair of chain guides pivotably mounted on said hub, a second of said pair of chain guides mounted on and movable with the wing, each of said pair of chain guides having a camming face forming a part thereof, said camming faces coacting with one another whereby movement of the second chain guide causes an appropriate movement of the first chain guide whereby adjustment of the wings will automatically provide a suitable adjustment of the chain guides to provide a generally uniform operating tension for the endless chains in all adjustable positions of the wings. 